Introduction:
I wanted to try a probiotic, as I never have and appreciate General Biotics for letting me try their probiotic.
I do have IBS and thought that this might give me some regularity and relief.

I have read up on some of the major probiotics in the current market and all of them specifically list the cultures and ingredients of their products. The label does not specify what culture there are in their product as termed on their website, "We are not disclosing strains at this time. Equilibrium took a lot of time and money to create, we want to protect that investment."
That answer does not make me, as a consumer at all satisfied with the content of this product. The two positive comments I have for the ingredient profile are:
1- Shelf stable (allegedly)
2- Grown in the United States (again, allegedly)
If both of these claims are true, kudos to the company, as these are major selling points for American consumers of probiotics; a lot of probiotics should be refrigerated to maintain freshness and stability of cultures and American supplements consumers are becoming much keener on where and how their products are being manufactured for purity.

I am not saying that either one of these aforementioned probiotics are better or worse than the other; however, I am noticing that the majority of the pre-exisiting probiotic products on the market are showing considerably higher amounts of colony-forming units (CFU = rough estimate of the number of viable bacteria or fungal cells in a sample) in their products.
All other companies also state what strain they so proudly promote in their product. I find it very suspicious that the General Biotics company chooses to keep this discrete and in doing so, are allowing consumers to ask more questions and allow for greater speculation on what is actually in each capsule. I could be swallowing capsules of saw dust and sand, and without full disclosure, I have no faith in saying that I am not.

Taste/Mixability/Dosing:
10/10
Take one capsule by mouth daily at the start of meal. The capsules are easy to swallow.
No taste.

Effectiveness:
4/10
I have not used other probiotics and cannot compare this to other probiotics, but only to my own body before and during use of this product. I was hoping to see noticable improvement and relife of IBS symptoms. I would say while on this product I noticed UP TO 20% benefit/improvement from this product. That is a generous conclusion and one I will add is made with the disclaimer that my IBS is still "moderately controlled" at best with many OTCs and prescription medications. Being said, this could be a complete coincidence and have not much if anything, to do with the probiotic. Many medications and therapies have also done absolutely nothing to help my IBS, so this is an important point to note. I did have some slight improvement with regularity during my use with this product.

Because this product is so new to the market they have only one finished study to their name. Many other probiotics suppliers have over a dozen studies with hundreds of testimonials, with doctors and professional that recommend usage of their products. General Biotics lacks everything that makes all of the other companies so successful and will need to gain that notoriety through more studies in order to gain popularity and esteem with the supplement community.

Value: *For a 1 month supply*
This is found supplied from their website at a 1-time buy, including shipping for $37.50 OR with a 'subscription' (continually sending to/billing user) for $29; int'l users add $3 to each order.
There are many probiotics found at Walgreens and Walmart (ie Schiff, Equate, Align, Culturelle, Jarrow, Renew Life, etc.) ranging from $16- upwards of $36, but rarely were the major brands seen over that price point when I searched.

I won't rate the value, but will comment that this product is on the higher end of the line when it comes to a one month supply for probiotics. That seems like it steep price for a company that will not tell you what is in their product. Too much for me.

Side Effects:
No immediate negative side effects that I can conclude. However, I did contract Influenza while on the tail end of this product, which is a disappointment, knowing the research behind improving your gut flora and how much that influences one's immune defenses. Other than relieving IBS symptoms for me personally, also improving immune defense should be a result of every human's probiotic usage.

Conclusion:
I would like to thank General Biotics for allowing me to try their Probiotic. I would not recommend this product to any user, due to the lack of research, the inconsistencies between this specific product and all comparable probiotics seen on today's market. I know I am a guinea pig being an ER for this site and took Equilibrium with blind faith, or more appropriately "Bro-science," or straight from the General Biotics website, because "Beltran, David, David’s girlfriend, David’s parents, David’s sister, and David’s cousins are all taking Equilibrium."

COMMENTS (1)

As of Jan, 2016, General Biotics published the strains in Equilibrium at the following link: http://www.generalbiotics.com/equilibrium/strains/ . They appear to be quite different from most probiotic products.